Olympic quarterfinals

The U.S. men’s team was so close, so close, to qualifying for these quarterfinals, that’s it’s almost heartbreaking. Having played some of their best ball in a long time against Holland, they let that match slip away in the final 30 seconds of extratime, and then lost 2-1 to Nigeria. The combined results were enough to send them home, and Holland and Nigeria through. The silky Victor Obinna of Nigeria would not be stopped.

Now the good news: after an initial 2-0 loss to Norway, the U.S. women’s team rebounded to advance against Canada tomorrow. Other women quarterfinal matches include most of the traditional female powerhouses: Brazil vs. Norway, Sweden vs. Germany and China vs. Japan.

The men’s quarters are set for Saturday. Those matches are: Brazil vs. Cameroon, Italy vs. Belgium, the Ivory Coast vs. Nigeria, and Argentina vs. Holland. That could set up some juicy semi-finals. I’m thinking Brazil-Italy, Argentina-Ivory Coast. Enjoy.